View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Kobe City University of Foreign Studies Institutional Repository ⚄ᡞᕷእᅜㄒ኱Ꮫ እᅜᏛ◊✲ ࢔ࢪ࢔ゝㄒㄽྀ A Phonological Sketch of Akha Buli --- A Lolo-Burmese language of Muang Sing, Laos --- HAYASHI Norihiko 1. Introduction The Akha language is a member of the Akoid languages of the Lolo (Yipho)-Burmese branch of Tibeto-Burman linguistic stock (Bradley 1997). It is spoken widely across Mainland Southeast Asia, in areas such as Yunnan Province of China, Northern Thailand, Northern Burma/Myanmar, Northern Laos, and Northern Vietnam. Hansson (2003: 236) states that there are approximately 250,000 in China, 45,000 in Thailand, 200,000 in Burma/Myanmar, 100,000 in Laos, and 7,000 in Vietnam, though population figures are not reliable. The Akha language has many linguistic varieties, like Akha Chicho, Akha Chepya, Akha Ulo, etc. This paper utilizes first-hand data1 to illustrate the basic phonology and lexicon of Akha Buli (Puli),2 which is an Akha variety spoken at Phabaad Noy Village in the district of Muang Sing in Luang Namtha Province, Laos (see Map 1). An orientation to the paper follows. Section 2 introduces previous studies on the Akha Buli language. Sections 3 to 6 describe the synchronic phonology of this language, whereby Section 3 deals with syllable structure, Section 4 illustrates the consonants, Section 5 presents the vowels, and Section 6 outlines the tones. Finally, Section 7 concludes this paper. Moreover, a basic word list is added as Appendix at the last part of this paper. 1 The data were collected as part of the author’s linguistic fieldwork in Phabaad Noy village in the district of Muang Sing in Laos, which took place in two periods, namely, September 2014 and February 2016. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the language consultants, Mr. A Eu (male, born in 1961) and Mr. A Pa (male, born in 1961), who kindly taught me the Akha Buli language. I also thank Prof. Sisamouth Sisomboon, Prof. Hommala Phensisanavong, and the National University of Laos for their academic and administrative support. This research is financially supported by JSPS KAKEN (#26370492), without which it would have been impossible to carry out. 2 Note that the Akha Buli language is called “Puli” or “Ko-Puli” in other literatures. HAYASHI Norihiko Map 1: Muang Sing Center and Phabaad Noy Village3 Kingsada and Shintani (1999) describe another Akha Buli variety (“the Ko-Puli language”) spoken in the district of Bun Tay in Phongsaly Province, CHINA whose phonology differs from that of Akha Buli in this paper. Nevertheless, their ● analysis needs further investigation because there is too little phonological Muang Sing explanation and linguistic information. 3. Syllable Structure LAOS The syllable structure can be described as C1(M)VC2/T. C1 represents the onset, M the medial, V the vowel, C2 the coda, and T the tone. Akha Buli words are basically open syllable, though some closed syllables can be found with the nasal coda (See 4.1.3). The syllabic nasal presents an exception to the above syllable structure, as will be discussed later (See 4.1.3). 4. Consonants 2. Previous Studies on the Akha Buli Language The consonants of Akha Buli6 can be summarized in the following chart. All of Akha is a relatively well-known language within the Lolo-Burmese branch and is them are placed in the onset slot, with only the nasals occurring in the coda slot. one of the best described languages in Southeast Asian linguistics (Katsura 1966, Lewis 1968, Hansson 1989, Hansson 2003, Lewis 2008, and many others).4 p b t d k g Katsura (1966) describes the phonology of an Akha variety in Thailand. Lewis ph th kh (1968) provides a detailed dictionary on Akha (Puli) in Burma/Myanmar. ts dz tɕ dʑ Hansson (1989) makes a comparison among Akha varieties in Thailand and tsh tɕh China. Hansson (2003) outlines the linguistic features of Akha, while Lewis m n ȵ ŋ (2008) is a more comprehensive dictionary of Akha dialects. There are, however, s ɕ x very few studies that describe Akha varieties in Laos. z j ɣ Kingsada and Shintani (1999) and Kato (2008) are considered to represent l breakthrough research in the minority linguistics of Laos. Both of them present basic lexicons of some Akha varieties. However, with regard to Akha Buli in 4.1 Consonantal Inventories Laos, Kingsada and Shintani (1999) has been the only work to present the 4.1.1 Stops/Plosives phonology and basic lexicons.5 There is a three-way contrast between voiced unaspirated, voiceless unaspirated, dialects may be mutually intelligible in different countries. 3 The right hand side of Map 1 represents the district of Muang Sing, which is cited from the local 6 The consonantal inventories of the Ko-Puli language described in Kingsada and Shintani (1999: tourist map created by Wolfgang Korn and German Development Service. 232) are as follows: 4 For more inclusive linguistic references on Akha, see Glottolog web page /p, ph, b, m; pj, phj, bj, mj; t, th, d, n, s, z, l; ts, tsh, dz, c, ch, ɟ, ɲ, ʃ, j; k, kh, g, ŋ, x, ɣ; ˀ, h/ http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/akha1245 (accessed on June 13th, 2016). Lewis (1968: viii-x) recognizes that aspirated and unaspirated obstruents are in complementary 5 With regard to Akha Buli (Puli) in Burma/Myanmar, Lewis (1968) is the only dictionary, though distribution, such as: /p/ is articulated as [p] before laryngealized vowels (corresponding to “creaky he states that the lexical data compiled in it may differ from Thailand. Nevertheless, Akha Buli vowels” in this paper) and as [ph] before plain ones. A Phonological Sketch of Akha Buli ---A Lolo-Burmese language of Muang Sing, Laos--- Map 1: Muang Sing Center and Phabaad Noy Village3 Kingsada and Shintani (1999) describe another Akha Buli variety (“the Ko-Puli language”) spoken in the district of Bun Tay in Phongsaly Province, CHINA whose phonology differs from that of Akha Buli in this paper. Nevertheless, their ● analysis needs further investigation because there is too little phonological Muang Sing explanation and linguistic information. 3. Syllable Structure LAOS The syllable structure can be described as C1(M)VC2/T. C1 represents the onset, M the medial, V the vowel, C2 the coda, and T the tone. Akha Buli words are basically open syllable, though some closed syllables can be found with the nasal coda (See 4.1.3). The syllabic nasal presents an exception to the above syllable structure, as will be discussed later (See 4.1.3). 4. Consonants 2. Previous Studies on the Akha Buli Language The consonants of Akha Buli6 can be summarized in the following chart. All of Akha is a relatively well-known language within the Lolo-Burmese branch and is them are placed in the onset slot, with only the nasals occurring in the coda slot. one of the best described languages in Southeast Asian linguistics (Katsura 1966, Lewis 1968, Hansson 1989, Hansson 2003, Lewis 2008, and many others).4 p b t d k g Katsura (1966) describes the phonology of an Akha variety in Thailand. Lewis ph th kh (1968) provides a detailed dictionary on Akha (Puli) in Burma/Myanmar. ts dz tɕ dʑ Hansson (1989) makes a comparison among Akha varieties in Thailand and tsh tɕh China. Hansson (2003) outlines the linguistic features of Akha, while Lewis m n ȵ ŋ (2008) is a more comprehensive dictionary of Akha dialects. There are, however, s ɕ x very few studies that describe Akha varieties in Laos. z j ɣ Kingsada and Shintani (1999) and Kato (2008) are considered to represent l breakthrough research in the minority linguistics of Laos. Both of them present basic lexicons of some Akha varieties. However, with regard to Akha Buli in 4.1 Consonantal Inventories Laos, Kingsada and Shintani (1999) has been the only work to present the 4.1.1 Stops/Plosives phonology and basic lexicons.5 There is a three-way contrast between voiced unaspirated, voiceless unaspirated, dialects may be mutually intelligible in different countries. 3 The right hand side of Map 1 represents the district of Muang Sing, which is cited from the local 6 The consonantal inventories of the Ko-Puli language described in Kingsada and Shintani (1999: tourist map created by Wolfgang Korn and German Development Service. 232) are as follows: 4 For more inclusive linguistic references on Akha, see Glottolog web page /p, ph, b, m; pj, phj, bj, mj; t, th, d, n, s, z, l; ts, tsh, dz, c, ch, ɟ, ɲ, ʃ, j; k, kh, g, ŋ, x, ɣ; ˀ, h/ http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/akha1245 (accessed on June 13th, 2016). Lewis (1968: viii-x) recognizes that aspirated and unaspirated obstruents are in complementary 5 With regard to Akha Buli (Puli) in Burma/Myanmar, Lewis (1968) is the only dictionary, though distribution, such as: /p/ is articulated as [p] before laryngealized vowels (corresponding to “creaky he states that the lexical data compiled in it may differ from Thailand. Nevertheless, Akha Buli vowels” in this paper) and as [ph] before plain ones. HAYASHI Norihiko and voiceless aspirated stops. Creaky vowels occur only after unaspirated stops. alveopalatals. The examples are shown below. Three points of articulation can be found: bilabial, alveolar, and velar. Velar consonants are generally followed by back vowels. 7,8 The examples are /ts/ [t͡ s]: /a̰ 21khɯ21tsɛ̰ 21/ [a̰ 21khɯ21tsɛ̰ 21] ‘to bark’ (#180), /tsa̰ 21dɤ̰ 21ta̰ 33/ illustrated below. Note that each example shows the phonemic notation (/ /), [t͡ sɐ̰ 21dɤ̰ 21tɐ̰ 33] ‘salty’ (#383), /la̰ 21tsɯ̰ 21/ [lɐ̰ 21t͡ sɯ̰ 21] ‘elbow’ (#30) phonetic articulation ([ ]), gloss (‘ ’), and the example number in the Appendix /tsh/ [t͡ sh]: /tshɛ55/ [t͡ shɛ55] ‘ten’ (#82), /tshɔ55xa21/ [t͡ shɔ55xɐ21] ‘human’ (#), as presented throughout this paper.